Robert b



(No Model.)

8 9 0O 1 9 2 L a M d e m D R m M P m E U HR SB B INVENTOR fwd c/WITNESSES:

ATTORNEYS NITED STATES .ATENT FFICE- ROBERT B. SHEPHERD, OF NEW YORK, N.Y.

BRUSH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,405, dated March29, 1898. Application filed July 28, 1897. Serial No. 646,166. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT E. SHEPHERD, a resident of the city, county,and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Brushes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates particularly to brushes of that character whereinthe back is made reticulated or perforated, the openings or perforations extending through the back of the brush, between the bristles,in a direction at substantially right angles to the plane of the back,so that the brush may be readily cleaned and maintained in a cleancondition. Heretofore in brushes of this character it has been customaryto make each of the openings in the back in the form of a frustum of acone, with the base of the frusto-conical openings next to the bristlesand the narrowest part of the openings at the rear, or to make theopenings of the same extend throughout from the face to the back of thebrush-back. Great difficulty has been experienced with brushes made inthis manner, inasmuch as the least material is provided where thebristles are mounted and where the most material and strength arerequired. Furthermore, by constructing a brush-back with openings in themanner hereinbefore described it has been found impracticable to mountthe bristles near the edge of the brush, so that they will projectoutwardly from a longitudinal median line, as is illustrated in thedrawings.

The object of my invention is to overcome the difficulties heretoforefound in open-back brushes and to produce a strong and efficientopen-back brush at little cost.

To this end my invention consists in abrush constructed as hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of aportion of a brush made in accordance with my invention, the sectionbeing taken on line 1 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of thesame.

In the drawings, A represents the back of a brush,'which is preferablymade in one piece by molding or otherwise. The brush-back is reticulatedor perforated in a direction at substantially right angles to the planethereof. The openings or extend between the bristles b, and the widestportion 0 ofeach of these openings is at the rear of the brush, theopenings tapering to the face or bristle-carrying portion of the brush,where said openings are narrowest, as indicated at d. It will beobserved that by constructing the brush-back in the manner described,with the widest portions of the openings to the rear of the brush, themost-material is provided at the face of the brush in which to mount thebristles. It will also be seen that by my invention I am enabled tomount the bristles so that they will project outwardly from alongitudinal median line of the brush, as clearly represented in Fig. 2.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s

A brush having a reticulated back, the openings in which extend betweenthe bristles, said openings being of the greatest diameter at the rearof the brush and decreasing in diameter to the face thereof whereby themost material is provided at the face or bristle-receiving side of thebrush-back.

ROBERT B. SHEPHERD.

Witnesses:

CHARLES E. SMrTH, JAMES L. SUYDAM.

